The requirements for courses if you are looking to study in Australia* to meet these occupations vary.

For example, to meet a skills assessment as a Nurse, if you are a graduate of a degree, you may be able to study a 2 year graduate entry Bachelor degree and then qualify as a nurse.

For a Teacher, you could undertake a 2 year Masters, for Engineering you’d need a Bachelor degree and for IT, a Masters + 1 year post qualification experience is required.

Trades require 2 years of study and then, while on the graduate visa, require 1 year of post qualification full time experience in that field.

What is the courses count towards the 2 years study requirement?

To gain points for skilled migration, you need to complete two years of study in Australia.

Many students undertake Masters programs to meet this but Vocational courses can also help in meeting these requirements.

To qualify, the 2 years of study need to be CRICOS registered for 92 weeks.

Most university degrees are registered for 52 weeks per year. So a 2 year masters would generally be 104 weeks.

For university courses, Bachelors, Masters and PHD’s can all count towards the 2 years study.

When it comes to Vocational courses, the courses that count are Certificates (only if they are trade qualifications – e.g. Mechanic, Chef, Carpentry) otherwise Diplomas and Advanced Diplomas.

This means that if you are an engineer from overseas, and have studied Diploma courses that are closely related, this may count towards the 2 years study and allow you to apply for graduate visas or potentially claim more points for residency.

It’s important to see a registered migration agency to make sure this counts and getting the right advice from the start can help ensure you keep all options open.

Example, we often see clients in Australia studying Certificate II, III and IV courses in business and sometimes these students are skilled people from back home.

By choosing the right level of course that is closely related instead of the certificates, they may be eligible to apply for 18 month graduate work visas but are unaware as they have not visited an education & migration agency.

Note: July 2017

Immigration to Australia is a constantly changing landscape and after the changes we’ve seen recently with respect to the 457 and permanent employer sponsored visas, there are more changes in the rules on what counts for Australian study requirement.

As of a new interpretation of the law passed down has seen a Graduate Diploma not counting towards the 2 year study requirement. Based on this, completing a Masters may be a safer option moving forward.

I have an employer willing to sponsor me, which course may help in this case?

Let’s face it, Australian’s have it good and in many parts of the world, you work harder than we do.

Not saying one is better than the other but using your strong work ethic to your advantage, can help you in Australia.

Again when it comes to study, it’s important to know what the outcomes of your course can bring.

I had a meeting with a client yesterday and we were mapping out all the potential outcomes courses can bring.

We can’t give away all our secrets but here are a couple of examples.

If a student studies a Diploma in Management, they may be eligible to be sponsored for either a 457 or even directly or permanent residency through regional sponsored migration in a range of occupations.

These include:

Cafe or restaurant manager

Hotel manager

We’ve even helped one of our clients this year be sponsored directly for residency as a House Keeping Supervisor directly for residency after finishing a Diploma in Hospitality.

This is only the tip of the iceberg and there are some many things we can share with our clients to help them achieve their goals.

As they grow, we grow with them and as an education and migration agency.

EMSA has a team of specialists that can help you answer all these questions.

To learn more or to let us help you achieve your education or migration dream, contact us today.